Laxwomen Destroy URI In Penalty-Laden Match

The Harvard women's lacrosse team extended its winning streak Saturday, overcoming inconsistent officiating and a slow start to trounce the University of Rhode Island, 7-1.

Coach Carole Kleinfelder said after the game she could not pick out an outstanding performance on either the offense or the defense--instead the referees grabbed the starring roles.

Go with the Flow

"It was a strange game," Kleinfelder said yesterday. "The officials took over the game and the players didn't flow well and were too intimidated to check," she added.

A plethora of whistles and an unusual number of verbal cautions kept much of the play away from the nets and it wasn't until 11:25 of the first half that Crimson sophomore Annie MacMillan drove the ball into the crease for the game's first goal.

One factor which hindered the Crimson's scoring was URI's innovative defense. The Ewes abandoned their man-to-man coverage and bunched together around the net when the laxwomen were in scoring range.

Harvard's patience and passing around the net finally paid off when freshman Francesca Denhartog notched the next Crimson tally at 15:09.

URI's lone score occurred at 16:45 when attack Celia Williams rocketed the ball past Crimson netminder Nancy Boutillier, who had four saves for the day. The stickwomen rebounded quickly, and one minute later, freshman Jenny White fired the ball into the crease for Harvard.

The half's final goal came at 22:05 when Denhartog converted an Annie Velie pass into a score, upping the Crimson margin to 4-1.

The second half opened amid controversy as junior Chris Sailer was ejected from the game for dangerous checks. The Crimson attack kept its composure, however, and senior scoring machine Sarah Mleczko widened Harvard's lead with tallies at 8:21 and 16:48.

MacMillan sealed the Harvard victory with one minute to play when she notched her second goal at 23:50 and made the final score 7-1.

Kleinfelder said yesterday the game increased the confidence of the young Crimson team, giving them reason to believe the New England championships are within reach.

The Crimson will face stiff competition this week when the squad plays the University of New Hampshire away on Thursday, and then takes on UMass at home next Saturday.